Where We Go From Here
by Katalius123
Summary: A look at the finale sideways moments through Kate's perspective. FINALE SPOILERS. one-shot.


Title: Where We Go From Here

Summary: A look at the afterlife moments through Kate's perspective. Obviously spoilers for the finale, heavy on the Jate.

* * *

I watched tearfully as Charlie and Claire kissed, embracing each other and Aaron as the family they once were. I thought about the life Claire and I made for ourselves after leaving the island and raising Aaron to become the man I always hoped he would be. She was so nervous and unsure at first, just like she had been the moment he was born, but like then, I gave her as much support as I could and stood by her as we watched Aaron grow. Almost 40 years. I died an old woman with more life lived than I ever thought possible. And now here I was, in a place with the people whose absence left the last years of my life, no matter how gratifying they were, somehow empty. Especially him…

Suddenly, Desmond walked up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him with tears in my eyes.

"Now do you understand?" He said softly. And I did. I understood completely without knowing exactly why. All that mattered was that I was here.

"So what now?" I asked. His smile widened and became knowing. I looked to him expectantly.

"Now the rest of us are going to the place I showed you this afternoon…but I need you to stay here."

I was frustrated to hear that even in this place I was still being told I couldn't come along.

"Why? Why can't I come?" I knew Desmond could hear the aggravation in my voice. He knelt down to be level with me sitting in the chair. He spoke low and slowly, letting the gravity of his words sink in.

"Because Jack is going to be here soon, Kate. And I need you to help him understand. I need you to bring him to that church because…you're the only one he'll trust enough."

My breath caught at the mention of his name. I could feel tears forming in my eyes. I grinned at the thought of seeing him again, but it quickly disappeared as I reminded myself of the reality we were in.

"Will he know me?" I asked.

Desmond's smile faded slightly. "No. Not yet. But you can change that."

"How?"

"You know how, Kate. You've always known."

"I don't understand."

"Does anyone? When he sees you, he'll feel what you just felt seeing Claire and Aaron. He'll feel what he always felt when he looked at you, and it doesn't matter what it is or how it works…all that matters is that he feels it. But he needs your help, Kate."

"How long before he gets here?"

Desmond chuckled at my impatience. His smile quieted as he took my hand. "I'm sorry, Kate. I know how long you've been waiting for him, but I promise he'll be here soon."

I laughed to myself as tears streamed down my cheeks, unable to organize or collect the rush of thoughts going through my head.

"40 years. What's another hour?"

Desmond laughed and stood up, letting go of my hand.

"When you're both ready…we'll be waiting for you." he said.

I nodded in full understanding. Desmond walked over to Charlie and Claire, informing them of the next steps and helping Claire to her feet. Charlie took Aaron in his arms, bundling him up in a blanket. As they all walked toward the door, Claire looked back at me. We smiled at one another.

"Good luck," she said before taking Charlie's hand and leaving for the church.

* * *

I was reeling. Everyone had left except for a few catering employees and crew members who were packing up the tables and equipment. I sat alone at table 23, my eyes darting everywhere for a glimpse of him.

As I waited, I thought of the last time I had seen him. It felt like centuries had passed since my time on the island. I remembered telling him to reassure me that we would see each other again, knowing deep down that the answer was of course no.

How could I have predicted this? It was beyond anything I'd ever imagined. When we live, we always wonder what will happen when we die, but never in my wildest dreams had I thought to hope for a place like this. A place where I could find him again and have the life we never got the chance to live.

Suddenly, I saw a figure emerge in the distance, walking down the lane toward the tents. I couldn't tell yet but…that was his walk, those were his movements, I remembered them as vividly as anything else. I stood, eager, holding my breath. It was him. He stood in the middle of the scene, hand in his pocket, tired and unsure.

It took everything in me to fight the urge to run to him and wrap my arms around him, but I remembered what Desmond said and the last thing I wanted to do was confuse him any more than necessary. So I collected myself, and remembered that in his mind, the last time we saw each other was outside the bathroom on the plane that did not crash.

I approached him, trying to seem unawares but unable to keep the knowing smile off my face.

"It's over." I said, sauntering toward him.

He turned to face me, putting down the cell phone he held in his hand.

"Excuse me?" His voice. It could have stopped me dead in my tracks but I had to keep calm.

"The concert – it's over." He sighed and looked around. It was so odd to see him like this, without memory, totally innocent. "You looking for someone?"

He turned and looked at me for a lingering moment before telling me about his son. I simply stared and listened to the sound of him, smiling like a kid, lost in my own thoughts and memories. His sentence trailed off as he noticed the way I was watching him and I knew somewhere inside of him he recognized me.

He chuckled and took one step closer to me.

"I'm sorry – where do I remember you from?"

My grin widened. I reminded him of the moment I stole his pen outside the bathroom on the plane. But his brow furrowed and he shook his head, incredulous.

"And that's how I know you." he said skeptically. I stopped and looked deep into his eyes, hoping he would see something in mine that would trigger the memories. My smile faded. I knew now what Desmond was talking about. This was my chance to help him understand, to help him remember.

"No…that's not how you know me."

Slowly I walked toward him until there was hardly a foot between us. I felt myself on the verge of tears, trembling with hope and anticipation. Carefully, I brought my hands to his face. His eyes grew wide and frightened and I knew whatever this was, it was working.

"I've missed you so much." My voice quaked with emotion. He pulled away instantly, confused and frustrated. I had to remind myself that this was Jack, always the last to trust in something bigger than himself, bigger than all of us. No matter how badly I wanted him to remember right now, he wasn't ready yet…but almost.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He sighed, restless and apprehensive.

"What is happening to me? Who are you?" The terror in his voice broke my heart.

"I know you don't understand, Jack," I said, trying my absolute best to reassure him, "but if you come with me…you will." I hoped that would be enough. He looked at me for a long moment and I could see the doubt slowly leave his eyes. He said nothing more, merely nodded. I could tell that he didn't understand why he was agreeing and it scared him, but I took his hand and smiled warmly as we made our way to his truck.

We pulled up to the church and as Jack turned the car off he looked around, still uncertain.

"Do you know where we are?" I asked him.

"This is where I was going to have my father's funeral…he died in Australia."

It was jarring to see that grief again, so fresh. Jack remembering his father before the bitterness and without the anger. I hadn't seen him like this since we had first met.

"I'm sorry." It was all I could think to say. He turned to me, tears glistening in his eyes, desperate for answers.

"Why did you bring me here?"

I smiled. "Because this is where you were going to have your father's funeral." There was nothing more I could say, the rest was up to him now.

"You can go in around back," I said gesturing behind us to where the church rectory was located. As I went to open the door he quickly stopped me.

"Wait – where are you going?"

I grinned at his eagerness. He wanted to follow me. I knew now that Jack had felt what Desmond said he would. He knew we were connected somehow, but just needed one more push to put all the pieces together.

"Inside. I'll be waiting for you there…once you're ready."

He laughed, growing used to my cryptic responses. But his face turned serious almost instantly and I could hear his voice tremble.

"Ready for what?"

My smile softened.

"…To leave." And with that, I got out of the car and made my way toward the front of the church, overwhelmed at the thought that the next time I saw him, he would remember everything. He would know me again.

Desmond was waiting at the door to greet me.

"Why hello there." he said with a smile. We turned and saw Jack get out of his truck and walk toward the back of the church.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"Now we wait." He looked at me triumphantly, the plan had worked. "Ah, before I forget," he said, brandishing a shopping bag he held in his hand, "I thought you might want to get out of that 'stupid dress.'"

I laughed and took the bag, walking back to Jack's car to change. Once I had put on the blouse and slacks, I stepped outside and took a look at myself in the reflection of the car window. It was bizarre to see myself like this again. I had gotten so used to an old woman looking back at me, I hardly remembered what it was like to be this young. But it made sense, all of us were preserved as we were during the most important time in our lives.

My mind once again turned to the prospect of seeing Jack – the real Jack – again. The Jack that I had been so afraid of loving. If there was one regret I still had, it was that I should have told him I loved him a hundred more times. Even when we were engaged, I let my own fear of relying on someone get in the way of how I really felt. But I had to believe that he knew, that when I finally said it before leaving him forever, he was beyond a doubt. It was the only thing that allowed me to sleep at night for all those years after.

Suddenly, a strange thought occurred to me. He had died later that very day, probably as our plane escaped overhead. Between now and our last meeting, what was 40 years for me was only a few hours for him. But the beauty of this place was that none of that mattered anymore. I had waited for him long enough. He was here, now, with me, and for all I knew he was already waiting for me inside.

I entered the church and was greeted by what I thought were ghosts at first. Claire approached me and we embraced happily, followed by Jin, Sun, Sawyer, Juliet…everyone. We were all crying and smiling, reminiscing on the last time we had all been together - lifetimes ago. Amidst all this, Jack finally emerged from the rectory, his father at his side. His face glistened with tears and one by one, he reunited with the faces of his past.

Finally he came to me. A quiet smile replaced his grin, as if seeing me had turned the initial rush of joy into a long-awaited peace. I felt it too. Wordlessly, we took each others' hand and I led him to the front pew. When we sat down, I placed my hand in his and we smiled as our fingers entwined, both of us needing to remind ourselves that the other was real.

He looked at me with more happiness in his eyes than I had ever seen, even at our best moments. I knew it was because he had finally let go. He had finally let go of his father, of his need to fix, of his inability to accept the things he could not understand. All the things that had kept us apart for all those years.

"Took you long enough," I joked, squeezing his hand. He laughed, his face continuing to glow. Steadily, everyone took their places in the congregation, and soon we were all seated, looking around contently at one another.

Finally, Christian approached Jack and silently placed a comforting hand on Jack's shoulder. They nodded to each other in acceptance. We watched as Christian continued walking, opening the doors to let in a brilliant white light.

As the light engulfed the room, Jack and I looked to one another, knowing that no matter what happened next, we would be together. We were ready to move on, ready to begin whatever new journey awaited us in this place. Everything we had been through, everything that had stood in our way no longer existed. We were free to start again, from the beginning, and become the people we never got the chance to be. And as we looked from each other to the people who surrounded us, the people we loved, we knew that none of us would ever be alone - or lost - again.

A/N: Hope you liked. I mainly wrote this for therapeutic purposes lol. As a Jater, obviously that finale was heaven (literally) but I still felt like there was something missing from it. I wanted to get a better sense of the magnitude of what that afterlife reunion meant for Kate, so...I guess that's what this is. Again, I hope you enjoyed!


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